Safety of Nanoparticles
Today you can find clay nanoparticles mixed with plastic in Miller Brewing Co. beer bottles, which are less likely to break than other bottles. There are 300-nanometer iron particles in Simply H’s Toddler Health nutritional drink. In fact, more than 100 food or food-related products on the market today contain nano materials — none of which have been tested for safety. Despite the exciting portent that nanotechnology products hold, many health officials are beginning to worry that more oversight should have been taken over the last 20 years.
Currently, the U.S. FDA doesn’t seem overtly alarmed about nanoparticles, which must have been clinically tested for safety by the manufacturer. FDA spokesperson Christopher Kelly admits that, “Nanoparticle versions of [FDA-approved] materials may well be new materials” that may trigger new investigations, but “this is considered on a case-by-case basis.” Since nanotechnology applications is such a new branch of science — just 20 years old — it’s hard to say when any real risks from overexposure would be revealed, but physicist Andrew Maynard warns, “We need to better understand how nano can be benign in foods, but [also] where the dangers are.” He adds, “It all comes down to the need for more research. We can’t fly blind here. We need to know what’s going on,” Maynard says. “There is no hard evidence that nanomaterials in products on the market will harm humans or the environment, but there is enough evidence to say that we need to reexamine.”
Despite rising worries over potential risks, 2009 has been a big year for the nano particle. MIT researchers discovered that nanoparticles carrying killer genes can effectively suppress ovarian tumor growth in mice. Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University researchers found success in animal trials of using a nano particle cream to treat erectile dysfunction, without all the usual side effects. University of Michigan studies confirm that a nanomaterial can be used to administer morphine on the battlefield, without dangerous side effects. Scientists at the Sharif University of Technology in Iran see promise in using coatings made of dioxide titanium nano materials to bolster the strength of steel and other building materials. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, silver nanoparticles are helping archaeologists examine ancient, diluted dyes by absorbing and enhancing the dye molecules, while also preventing fluorescent substances from reflecting too much light when a laser is shined on them. All these exciting breakthroughs are evidence that we can’t just walk away from this new science.
“Technology is not utopia, but two-edged sword - it was always, from the moment when mastered the element of fire,” says futurist Ray Kurzweil. “He argues that nanoparticles could be the key to immortality, as humans use microscopic “computers” and “repair soldiers” to fix all the body’s internal structures through a simple injection or a cream. Despite fears that nanoscience makes us “less human” somehow, Kurzweil argues that self-improvement is an extension of human nature, that change is part of who and why we are.
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